Ladling With Luke Chapter One
ELLI
I look down at my phone and re-read the message from my boss Anthony for the hundredth time since receiving it last night. My heart’s racing with excitement and nerves as I head up in the elevator to the fifteenth floor of the building, where the advertising agency I work for is based. I’ve worn my favourite trouser suit and my hair down - so it falls in long loose waves down my back - hoping to look as professional as possible.
I quickly head to my desk and dump my bag underneath it before pulling my portfolio from the drawer I locked it in last night. I look down at it and smile, my heart racing. This campaign will be the start of something big for me, I can feel it. It could be the one to push me closer to the life I’ve been dreaming about since I moved here from the UK six months ago.
It had been one of the scariest moves of my life; I left everything I knew and started afresh. The “starting anew” part wasn’t the worst bit, I’ve done that my whole life. The scariest part of moving across the Atlantic Ocean was that this time I’d invested my life savings in my last ditch attempt to find a place I could finally call home.
I hear my phone vibrate across the desk. I pick it up and look at the screen.
Grace: Go get ‘em, girl! Push for that pay rise so we can party in style!
I chuckle as I check the time. Anthony asked me to be at his office at nine, and it’s five to now.
I place my phone in the bottom drawer of my desk with my bag and lock it before picking up my folder. I take a deep breath and head toward Anthony’s office.
As soon as I get to his door, I knock. I hear him call for me to enter.
I take one last deep breath, open the door, and walk in.
“Sorry, I think I’m a little early,” I say as I look at my boss sitting behind his huge mahogany desk with a smile.
“Take a seat, Elli, I’ll just finish this call,” Anthony replies as he holds his hand out to the two chairs in front of his desk. I take a seat and wait, trying not to listen to the conversation. A few minutes later, Anthony puts down his phone and looks up at me with a smile.
“I’m glad you’re a few minutes early as I want to discuss something with you before…” he doesn’t get any further as a knock at the door interrupts him. “Ah, I see I won’t get to pre-warn you,” he chuckles before calling for whoever’s knocking to come in.
“Sorry. Am I early?”
I turn to see Luke standing in the doorway; he looks from Anthony to me and frowns.
“No, not at all Luke, please come in and take a seat so we can get started,” Anthony says as I watch Luke walk cautiously into the room. I turn around and see our boss looking at us both, smiling.
“I can see you are both a little confused, so let me explain why I’ve called you both here together,” he says as he leans forward in his chair and places his hands together on the desk in front of him.
“I’m going to be frank, as much as we loved both of your presentations yesterday, something was missing from them. I’m not saying they weren’t good, but we want to try something new and get you both to work together on this campaign and see if you can come up with something bigger and better,” Anthony explains as he looks between us. Luke and I glance at each other.
“You want us to work together?” Luke asks for confirmation. Anthony nods and looks at the two of us individually.
“The chemistry between the two of you has long been a subject of discussions on this floor, and I know you can’t deny the fact that when you are competing against each other, you produce your best work. I want to see what will happen when you put that energy into something together,” Anthony explains further, before staring at us both as if waiting for us to comment.
I know that Anthony’s right; we probably would work superbly together, but a part of me wants to burst into tears. I need this campaign, plus the promotion and pay rise I would get from it. My funds are starting to run low, and living in the States is expensive.
“What about the promotion and bonus? Would it be offered to both of us? Would the money be shared 50/50?” Luke asks next to me. I watch as Anthony nods and slowly smiles, and my heart sinks.
“Yes, but we’ve asked the company for twice the amount as they will have two of our best people working for them. They have agreed, so you wouldn’t lose out on anything. As for the promotion, it will be offered to both of you,” he explains as I let out a breath I didn’t realise I was holding.
“What do you both think?” Anthony asks as he looks between us again. I hear Luke sigh next to me, but I still can’t bring myself to look at him.
“I’m fine with it if Elli is,” I hear him say. I turn to him and see him giving me a soft, reassuring smile. “Do you think you can handle working with me? Or would you end up pushing me out the window like you keep threatening to?” he asks with that lop-sided smile that puts me at ease. I nod before turning back to Anthony, hoping I can hide how fast my heart is racing.
“Okay,” I answer as I force my shoulders to relax. “How long do we have to get this together?”